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The mask | 6

From the day of the bludger incident Harry had a gut feeling that something bad was bound to happen. He couldn't know when and what but he simply knew something was going to happen and soon. 

He spent his nights wide awake, wearing his Invisibility Cloak, standing by the living room window. The neighbourhood was quiet, which was exactly what made him worried. After such an incident, it was sure that the perpetrators would move forward with their plans against Ginny. He was eager and prepared, but as the days passed and nothing much happened, he began to think that he was just being slightly paranoid. Yet the gut feeling remained there. 

What he failed to understand was how they had managed to curse the bludger. It could easily be an inside job, but as far as he was concerned this wasn't the case at all. At least, not yet. It was either this or the possibility that someone somehow had managed to infiltrate into the Holyhead Harpies' pitch and do their job. It really bugged him that there were no leads whatsoever and that rendered them stuck into the vicious cycle of their daily routine, with some added nervousness to both Aurors. 

By the end of next week, nothing much had happened. No new attacks or threats or anything for that matter. Athena returned later in the afternoon after the Holyhead Harpies' usual training. Tomorrow she'd have to attend one of their games which under normal circumstances would be thrilling but right now she wasn't exactly dreading the match. She was too busy worrying about Harry because, despite his promises, he didn't exactly look good. He was better than usual, but maybe he was just hiding his feelings. Speaking of the Devil, she found him wide asleep on the couch. She shook her head as she went over to make herself something to eat. He joined her only a while later. 

“Hey,” he murmured, rubbing his eyes. 

“Hello Sleeping Beauty,” she joked, pointing at Harry's messy hair. “Slept well?”

“I've slept better,” he admitted as he put some water to boil for tea. “How was training?”

“The usual.”

“Great.”

Their small talk died as soon as Athena settled down to eat her meal, consisting of some rice and vegetables. Harry took his cap of tea and sat down opposite of her. They remained quiet, occasionally peeking over the window. 

“Do you get a feeling that something bad is going to happen?” Athena asked eventually, her grey eyes gazing out of the window. 

Harry nodded. “I do. It's actually overwhelming.”

“It just feels like whoever is behind this has prepared a sort of time-table and they're going through it,” Athena tried to elaborate. “And today feels the kind of day they're going to try something.”

“Well, I just hope the investigation crew did a better job at actually arresting those criminals,” Harry admitted, taking a sip. 

“I'm sure they're doing what they can.”

Harry huffed. “Of course. That's why they can't figure out who cursed that damn bludger.”

Athena eyed him carefully but decided not to push any further. Getting into a fight with him wasn't the best option. “There's more in the pot if you want to eat.”

“I'm not hungry yet.”

“Alright, just don't forget to eat.”

“Okay, jeez mum.”

Athena rolled her eyes. “You're so bloody frustrating sometimes.”

Harry beamed. “Yes, I've been told.”